Fellowship of Believers
A Firm Foundation • Week 4
Adam Barnett teaches on the affirmation "We affirm the Church as a Fellowship of Believers" and talks about what the Church is meant to be today.
MESSAGE NOTES
Fellowship of Believers
A Firm Foundation • September 25, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
--
We affirm the Church as a Fellowship of Believers.
1. The Church is not a holy building.
2. The Church is not an exclusive club.
3. The Church is not a weekly spiritual meeting.
4. The Church is not a moral police force.
The Church is a community of born-again believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture, we organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for worship and the proclamation of the Word of God, and observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and Communion. We are united by the Holy Spirit, disciplined for holiness, and scattered throughout our community to fulfill the Great Commandment and Great Commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good.
1. We are a community of new creations. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. – 2 Corinthians 5:17
2. We submit to qualified leadership.They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. – Acts 2:42
3. We worship. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord.– Ephesians 5:19
Worshipper: People who truly know God, and respond from the heart, with reverence and awe, by treasuring and enjoying God, and being satisfied in Him above all other things.
4. We embrace and obey Scripture. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.– 2 Timothy 3:16
5. We revere the Sacraments. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19) and, He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).
6. We are united. Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.– Philippians 2:2
7. We are disciplined for holiness. …Train yourself to be godly.– 1 Timothy 4:7
8. We love our neighbor. Jesus said, Love your neighbor as yourself.– Mark 12:31
9. We are on a mission.We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.– 2 Corinthians 5:20